CAREER: Integrating geology and metallurgy for efficient, sustainable production of critical elements for the green economy

向可持续低碳经济的转型依赖于铀、钒、铜和钴等能源金属的长期供应。然而，由于易于开采的矿藏已经枯竭，从国内来源生产这些金属正变得越来越困难；剩下的是矿物学复杂的低品位矿石。目前的开采工艺是针对较为简单的矿石设计的，对于较为复杂的剩余资源来说效率低下，有时甚至无效。相反，该项目将发展一种地质冶金方法来开采和提取能源金属和其他关键元素。这包括根据各个矿产地的详细矿物学和组成来调整提取过程，从而能够更有效地提取能源金属和减少矿山废物。这将有助于维持未来支持低碳能源的金属的可持续供应。该项目的附带效益包括一项教育和推广方案，该方案将扩大教师和公众对矿产资源主题的参与。该项目将整合地质数据和冶金实验，以开发适合的地质冶金方法来提取关键能源金属，从铀、钒和钴开始。这些金属对低碳能源生产和绿色经济至关重要，但它们的供应受到矿床品位低、矿物学复杂以及对矿物性质如何控制冶金行为的理解不足的威胁。研究将从详细描述全球重要的U、V和Co沉积物矿石的矿石性质和矿物分布开始。一系列的浸出实验将阐明矿石矿物性质（结晶度、成分）和流体-矿物反应之间的联系，从而优化提取设计。初步结果将用于开发地质冶金模型，为科罗拉多高原U和V矿床的矿带优化提取参数，并在那里对该方法进行测试。这将重置将地质学和冶金学区分开来的传统范式，并将提供一种模式，以推广到世界范围内的其他关键矿产资源。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy depends on viable long-term supplies of energy metals such as uranium, vanadium, copper, and cobalt. However, producing these metals from domestic sources is becoming more difficult as easy-to-mine deposits are exhausted; what remains are lower-grade ores with complex mineralogy. Current extractive processes are designed for simpler ores and are inefficient, sometimes ineffective, with the more complicated remaining resources. This project will instead develop a geometallurgical approach to mining and extracting energy metals and other critical elements. This consists of tailoring extractive processes to the detailed mineralogy and composition of individual ore zones, enabling more efficient extraction of energy metals and less mine waste. This will help to maintain a sustainable supply of the metals that support low-carbon energy in the future. Ancillary benefits from this project include an education and outreach program that will broaden engagement with mineral resources topics among teachers and the public. This project will integrate geological data and metallurgical experiments to develop tailored geometallurgical approaches to the extraction of critical energy metals, starting with uranium, vanadium, and cobalt. These metals are vital to low-carbon energy generation and the green economy, but their supply is threatened by low ore deposit grades, complex mineralogy, and gaps in the understanding of how mineral properties control metallurgical behavior. Research will begin with detailed characterization of ore properties and ore mineral distribution in the globally important sediment-hosted ores of U, V, and Co. A series of leaching experiments will illuminate the connections between ore mineral properties (crystallinity, composition) and fluid-mineral reactions, enabling optimized extraction design. The initial results will be used to develop geometallurgical models of optimized extraction parameters for ore zones in the Colorado Plateau U and V deposits, where this approach will be tested. This will reset the traditional paradigm, which compartmentalizes geological from metallurgical insights, and will provide a model for extension to other critical mineral resources worldwide.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.